After Frenzied Build-Up, "Hinman Emails" Fail to Move the Needle on Crypto Policy

Ripple, U.S. SEC Seem to Agree On Not Taking Hinman Speech Seriously

Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seem to be on the same page about the documents known as the Hinman Emails: The former official’s past remarks shouldn’t govern current policy.

Despite the rush of attention this week on the insider deliberations that went into writing a five-year-old speech from William Hinman – the former head of the SEC’s corporation finance division – the agency’s past uncertainty over the status of ether (ETH) never amounted to formal commission-approved rules or guidance. So the dialogue over the ex-official’s one-time remarks may offer some insights, but it’s unlikely to move the needle on the agency’s crypto policy.

by CoinDesk

Michele Layne, Director of Los Angeles Regional Office, to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Michele Layne, the Director of the Los Angeles Regional Office, is leaving the agency this month after more than 27 years of service. Cindy Eson and Kate Zoladz will become Acting Co-Directors upon Ms. Layne’s departure.

by SEC Press Release

My Twitter Exchange With Mark Cuban (Who Should Run For President And Would Get My Vote Despite Our Disagreements)

Never have I experienced a Twitter discussion as captivating as the one I had over the past 24 hours with Mark Cuban.

Starting late night Wednesday and through most of Thursday, In plain view, for everyone to see on the Twitter platform, Mark Cuban and I debated the cryptoverse, Kevin O’Leary, Binance, Coinbase, SEC over-reach and hypocrisy, Pink Sheet stocks, smart contract truths, FDIC insurance and a whole lot more.

Lots of commentary from, and interaction with, the Twitter audience gave the whole process the feel of an old fashioned Town Hall Meeting, except with millions of attendees (and views). Elon should be proud.

Binance Under Investigation in France, Accused of ‘Serious’ Money Laundering: Report

Binance’s French unit is under investigation by local authorities for the “illegal” provision of digital asset services and “acts of aggravated money laundering,” the Paris public prosecutor’s office has confirmed to CoinDesk.

Allegations against Binance from French prosecutors “relates on the one hand to acts of illegal exercise” of operating as a digital asset service provider and “acts of aggravated money laundering, by competition with operations of investments, concealment, conversion, the latter being carried out by perpetrators of offenses having generated profits,” the Paris’ public prosecution office told CoinDesk. Binance is registered as a PSAN or digital asset service provider, with the French financial regulator.

CoinEx accepts New York ban, to pay $1.8 million to resolve attorney general lawsuit

CoinEx agreed to pay $1.8 million and be banned from operating in New York to settle state Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accusing the cryptocurrency exchange of operating illegally because it failed to register with the state.

A proposed settlement was filed on Wednesday in a New York state court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval.

It calls for CoinEx to be banned from offering, selling or buying securities and commodities in New York, or making its platform available in the state.

The Crypto Wars Escalate

As for the SEC’s position: Chairman Gensler might say that, if Congress had told the SEC that it does not have jurisdiction over crypto, or if Congress had enacted legislation that specifically applied to crypto, the SEC would step back and do what Congress says. But Congress has not said anything, so, if the SEC thinks that tokens and other types of crypto are securities under existing law (the Howey test), it has no choice but to apply that regulatory framework unless and until the law changes. The exchanges and other defendants in crypto proceedings might need to run out the clock for a bit to see whether Congress can get its act together to write new rules or provide a path to compliance.

Judge Lewis Kaplan blasts Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid to toss FTX fraud charges

The former billionaire’s camp is seeking to get 10 of the 13 fraud charges against him thrown out in the case charging him with stealing from customers of his since-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

“I congratulate you on extraordinarily imaginative arguments,” Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan said after Bankman-Fried lawyer Christian Everdell wrapped up his arguments during a hearing.

Kaplan seemed particularly skeptical of Everdell’s arguments that the feds failed to sufficiently prove conspiracy to commit bank fraud against his 31-year-old client, claiming that prosecutors didn’t argue that banks were harmed but rather customers were.

Fed, SEC Probing Goldman Sachs’s Role in SVB’s Final Days

The Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Goldman Sachs’s role in buying Silicon Valley Bank’s securities portfolio while it was working on its doomed capital raise before the bank’s failure, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department has also subpoenaed Goldman as part of its investigation into SVB, some of the people said. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the SEC and Justice Department are investigating the bank’s collapse. The Goldman inquiries are part of the broader probes, some of the people said.

The Fed and the SEC are seeking documents related to Goldman’s role as both buyer of the securities portfolio and adviser on the capital raise for SVB, the people said. They are looking to see if Goldman’s investment banking side and its trading division were improperly communicating about the portfolio sale, some of the people said.